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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

International Center for Environmental Arts introduces Ethical Fashion for People & Activists:

"Standard Iceality Apparel"

Standard Iceality Humanitarian Apparel (Red Shirt)

The
International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) was founded by David
and Renate Jakupca in 1987 to meet the compelling needs of ordinary
citizens for access to current, balanced, understandable information
about complex global issues. It was formed to be as an umbrella organization having
three independent divisions, Environmental, Humanities and Arts and
Culture, each working together towards a common goal of building sustainable global Culture of Peace for all Living Things.

FASHION WEEK CLEVELAND / COLUMBUS

Fashion Week Cleveland is an annual fashion industry event held in Cleveland, Ohio which began in 2002. It is one of fourteen internationally-recognized fashion week events in North America. Fashion Week Cleveland is held during the first week of May. The event is the third-largest fashion show of its kind in the United States behind only New York Fashion Week and Los Angeles Fashion Week. As such, this event is recognized as the showcase for emerging American fashion designers.

"Ethical Fashion is a term to describe ethical fashion design,
production, retail, and purchasing. It covers a range of issues such as
working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production,
the environment, and animal welfare", states Ambassador Renate.

The STANDARD ICEALITY APPAREL
guidelines by model/designerAmbassador Renate are a basic unisex Ethical Fashion
outfit for all Activists and People. It allows
people to join with others for the greater good, while sharing their
individual colors, organizations and causes in one complete fashion
statement - Red for Humanity, Black for Arts and Culture, Green for
Environment, White for Official Duties and introducing the NEW COLOR OF PEACE; PSYCHEDELIC!

Ambassador Renate is all for ethical fashion as it becomes accessible to everyone, and
by everyone, I mean the Public. But until then, it is a major task to
get everyone to think about what’s in their wardrobe. Ethical Fashion aims to address the problems it sees with the way the
fashion industry currently operates, such as exploitative labor,
environmental damage, the use of hazardous chemicals, waste, and animal
cruelty.

As a pioneer on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs ICEA tries to keep its members up on documents
companies typically post, but CSR brochures tend to be misleading — not with what is
written, but what is left out. Last year, June 17th 2012, just before all the presidents, prime ministers and
other world leaders meet in Rio de Janeiro to agree on a way forward for
sustainable development, the United Nations Global Compact hosted
the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum. Within more than 60 sessions
focused on key sustainability issues, there is one that, perhaps, you
would not normally expect: “Good Business Models for a Sustainable
Future” organized by the International Trade Centre’s Ethical Fashion
Initiative. The purpose of all this goes beyond letting some people with good
accessories vent for an afternoon. The stated aim of the session is to
produce a “roadmap” — free to use — to help big global fashion business
become more fair, more green, more inclusive yet never less chic. The
panel was led by Simone Cipriani, who chairs the Ethical Fashion
Initiative of the International Trade Centre (ITC), a United Nations Organization.

Some of the issues around Ethical Fashion

According to ICEA, Ethical Fashion aims to address the problems it sees with the way
the fashion industry currently operates, such as exploitative labor,
environmental damage, the use of hazardous chemicals, waste, and animal
cruelty.

Serious concerns are often raised about exploitative working
conditions in the factories that make cheap clothes for the high street.

Child workers, alongside exploited adults, can be subjected to
violence and abuse such as forced overtime, as well as cramped and
unhygienic surroundings, bad food, and very poor pay. The low cost of
clothes on the high street means that less and less money goes to the
people who actually make them.

Cotton provides much of the world's fabric, but growing it
uses 22.5% of the world's insecticides and 10% of the world's
pesticides, chemicals which can be dangerous for the environment and
harmful to the farmers who grow it. (Ethical Fashion Forum)

Current textile growing practices are considered unsustainable
because of the damage they do to the immediate environment. For
example, the Aral Sea in Central Asia has shrunk to just 15% of its
former volume, largely due to the vast quantity of water required for
cotton production and dying. (Ethical Fashion Forum)

Most textiles are treated with chemicals to soften and dye
them, however these chemicals can be toxic to the environment and can be
transferred to the skin of the people wearing them. Hazardous chemicals
used commonly in the textile industry are: lead, nickel, chromium IV,
aryl amines, phthalates and formaldehyde. (Greenpeace)

The low costs and disposable nature of high street fashion
means that much of it is destined for incinerators or landfill sites.
The UK alone throws away 1 million tonnes of clothing every year. (Waste
Online)

Many animals are farmed to supply fur for the fashion
industry, and many people feel that their welfare is an important part
of the Ethical Fashion debate. The designer Stella McCartney does not
use either fur or leather in her designs. In an advert for the animal
rights organization PETA, she said: 'we address... ethical or
ecological... questions in every other part of our lives except fashion.
Mind-sets are changing, though, which is encouraging.'

At the ARK in Berea, ICEA has become over the years a force for socially
responsible activity. ICEA's mission is the "Theory of Iceality on Environmental Arts", that
is to "Assist in understanding of the relationship between Humans and
their Environment through Arts and Culture, ultimately promoting a sustainable
global Culture of Peace for all Living Things".

The International Center for Environmental Arts
(ICEA) is a place where people are encouraged to develop their own
unique individual skills and talents for themselves, their community,
nation and the world. The ARK in Berea as a retreat, provides a healthy
holistic environment to aid people in their social, emotional, physical,
intellectual, spiritual as well as artistic growth. Sustainable
business leadership training programs are available to corporate and
community organizations. Consultants and Speakers are available for all
topics relating to the Humanities, Arts, and the Environment.

2 comments:

The Wacky and Wonderful World of Coachella Festival Fashion StyleBy Julie Pereira,

Coachella is a massive, multi-stage musical event occuring over two weekends that brings together a varied crowd of high fashion devotees, hippie flower children, and yes, even superheroes. The festival style found there is something to be studied and between the gals who came for the music and those who came to see and be seen, The Thread was there to capture all the best (and most unusual) looks from the kick-off weekend.

Business Grant Program for Women EntrepreneursDesigner Eileen Fisher seeks women with socially conscious businesses to apply for grants.

Are you a female entrepreneur with a socially conscious business that uses sustainable principles and innovative thinking? Consider applying for a grant opportunity offered by clothing manufacturer EILEEN FISHER. Their grant committee considers it essential to have a solid business plan and growth strategy for your existing business to become a candidate for this program.

Launched in 2004, this grant is now awarded to five recipients every year. Each grant winner receives $12,500 plus mentoring and is invited to attend a three-day workshop provided by EILEEN FISHER committee members and past grant recipients.

The grant is a welcome boost for small entrepreneurs who may have difficulty accessing credit, which is often difficult to obtain.

Cheryl Campbell, EILEEN FISHER Business Grant Facilitator says, “In this economy, we want to continue to inspire women to pursue new opportunities and creative solutions that will move their businesses forward in a sustainable way.”

Artists who meet the criteria may be excellent prospects for this grant, which favors product-based enterprises. You must have been in business for at least three years and be prepared to show profit and loss statements, and project how the grant money will enhance the growth of your business.

Access more information about this grant opportunity here.

Deadline for completing the grant application is May 31st. Semi-finalists will be contacted in September.